Sunday, February 11/2018 - Saturday, February 17/2018

James, Belle and family arrived on Monday

Company arrived this week with Belle and James Schultz arriving with their two kidlets Jarrah and Airlie in tow.  And the dog......Arlie!!  They settled in nicely and loved the place.  They checked out all the new consruction and thought that Jace and Kimmy would be pleased with their accomodations while they were here.
The weather sucked for the first day with rain and wind but day two found us out on the trails and headed over to Stanton and the Canyon.
It was an awesome day for a ride and I think the kids really enjoyed it.  We made good time and Airlie even had time to get out the sand toys and play in the sand in the wash.  Jarrah was busy with his monster trucks climbing over rocks and whatever else he wanted!!   The snacks Belle brought were a hit and kept the kids busy as well.   Gosh, it so reminded me when our boys were small and we had to pack a ton of snacks .... it was a good memory and made me smile!!  Now, all the boys want is beer and jerky!!   No more fruit rollups needed!!

Out for a ride on Tuesday

Airlie checking out the "mine"

The Schultz Family in th mouth of the mine

The Crested Sajuaro Cactus

Schultz's bike and side by side beside the cactus

The big discussion as to who was going to sit in
the middle and who would be sitting on the seat!!

Airlie playing in the sand in the wash

With the Salt Cedar trees

The Schultz family in the wash by the Salt Cedars

James on the hill above the trail

Another great day

The Schultz's packing up to leave

We got back to the house in good time and John got a fire going in the woodstove.   It was soon nice and toasty in the mancave.  The kids were tired and of course a bit on edge but they were pretty darn good.  They entertained themselves by watch cartoons on the TV while James cooked burgers on the barbeque.  Everyone ate when they wanted and that is always a good thing.
Jarrah had discovered the can crusher the evening before so spent much of the evening waiting for the beer cans to be emptied so that he could crush them.   He became the "official" crusher!!
Lee, one of our friends from town delivered some kitchen cabinets out to us on Monday and before it rained, Kay and I scooted up to the hardware store in Yarnell to pick up a tarp to cover them.  We could not let them get wet and it was a good thing we did as it was rainy and nasty for the following few days.
The kids left on Wednesday and I also got my haircut here at the beauty salon in Congress.  It cost me $9.00!!  Gosh....I love America!!!  LOL
The kids were gone by the  time I got back home but I am sure they have lots of good memories to take with them.  I hope so anyway!!
The rain returned on Thursday but John decided to move the trailer and get the sewer dumped anyway.  He hooked up the masceration pump, got the hose and drained it into our septic tank.  It worked great so now the tank is empty and the trailer will be ready for Scott, Jill and Tessa at the end of the month.
On Friday, we unloaded the cabinets and got the trailer ready for Lee to return to Wickenburg.   It was a nasty job and it was not without a few mishaps.   We ended up with a ton of cabinets that we can not possibly use so I think we will end up putting them on Wickenburg Swap in the hopes that someone will come and get them!!   If not, they will be headed to Habitat ReStore before the kids arrive on the 25th.
On Saturday, the three of us scooted into Wickenburg to clean out the little shed.  We have managed to sell it.

Moving the shed out of the yard

Another great day

And it will be moved on Monday.  So, with that in mind, John hauled all the heavy stuff out and into the back of the truck while Kay and I took care of the light stuff.   While we were there, the movers arrived just "to see" what needed to be done to move it on Monday.   They ended up actually moving it out of the yard and sat it on the other side of the trailer so that on Monday, all they had to do was get it onto the roll off truck and head over to its new home.

Another busy week seems to have come and gone.  Man, time is sure flying by.  Before we know it, it will be time to start thinking about  heading home but, we have a few more guests to entertain before that.   Jace and Kimmy and Scott and Jill are headed this way soon then Lorne and Marilyn will arrive back from their month south of the border and Kay's sister Kim is scheduled to make an appearance as well.   Woo Hoo!!  March is going to just fly by!!
All in all though.....it has been a good week.
Life is Good!!

Sunday, February 4/2018 - Saturday, February 10/2018

This week found us engrossed in the Superbowl.  We all had money riding on the score and Mitch was the lucky winner.  He won 70 dollars!!  Now, I was hoping for the win but I guess we will have to wait for the upcoming season!!

Going up Yarnell Hill

We took a short jeep ride on Sunday before the big game.  It was such a nice day and so we headed up to Yarnell to do the back way over to Stanton Ghost Town and home.  We took the jeep and the dog and away we went.   We stopped along Antelope Creek (it was very dry) and have a "two beer stop" while Booko checked out the area.  At one point he came back to the jeep on three feet as he had a "sticker" in one of his paws!!  He is learning though that this country likes to poke you at every opportunity!!

Vulture Peak in the distance

The back way to Stanton

Meeting a car on the rather dubious "road"

Stopped at Antelope Creek - which was very dry!!

Booko is ready to head home

What remains of an old stone struncture along the road

Miles and miles of desert with lots of mountains in the background

A rare crested cactus also called a "crowned" cactus

Crown cactus

Checking out more trails on Saturday

This week found John busy making repairs to the deck at the apartment.  For some reason it has decided to not sit flat so he dealt with that before someone tripped and hurt themselves.
Mitch arrived back from Utah and brought us some meat we had ordered from a butcher shop in Spanish Fork, Utah.  He has been fighting this cold and flu that has been going around and looked tired.  It wasn't too long before he headed for home so that he could get into his sweats and just sit and rest.
This week was also the week that we had to do some yard cleaning as well.  The weeds were getting out of control along the fence so I decided that they needed to be dealt with.  Kay was busy doing general clean up and John was busy moving the woodpile.
I decided to tackly the cat claw bush by the fence and came out bleeding on only 6 spots!!  It grabbed me a few times and certainly did not want to let go.  Now that bloody thing is just EVIL and it is truly in one's best interest to just leave it alone!!
Kay and I checked out the local Congress dump this week and realized that it really was a bit pricey to use it.  They charged a buck for each bag of garbage!!  WHAT!!  Im thinking that I like the price of hauling our garbage into the big community bins in Wickenburg.......it is free!!
We also took the time to check out the town itself.  There are some nice yards and a few landscaping ideas to be had by just cruising the roads of town.
I took the time this week to water the oleanders.  They were looking rather sad so a little water certainly made them look happier.  Of curse there are so many down the one fence line that I take a chair with me so that I can sit while I water.  Booko hangs with me, checking out all the nooks and crannies around the big pine trees.  Sky, Kay's kitten often joins us as well.  It really is a "family affair"!!
Gold Rush Days started this week in Wickenburg and Kay and I scooted in on Friday to check out all the vending booths.   It is quite an adventure and this year was as good as any.  The craftsmanship of the various artists is incredible and both Kay and I dropped a few dollars at a few of the kiosks.

On Saturday, we went to pick up two recliners from a couple who wanted to sell them as they were moving to a smaller place.  They were "like new", had never really been sat in as they were in the family room downstairs so not really ever used!!  For 50 bucks we had a couple of awesome recliners!!

When we arrived back at home and had the chairs unloaded and into the house, we hopped into the side by sides and scooted off into the desert for a ride.
We wanted to check out the trail to Stanton and the Canyon.  We have more company arriving in the upcoming week and wanted to make sure we could get from point A to point B without too much difficulty.  We took a rather circuitous route but did manage to find our way through the desert.  Of course this will NOT be the way we will take the company as it was a bit rough in areas and took quite a while to navigate to the "good" trail.  There is a much easier way to travel but today's ride was interesting and we did see a lot of scenery!!

Old mine shaft we found

We got back to the yard in good time, started the fire and enjoyed the evening.  Booko decided that he wanted to sleep in the side by side for part of the evening and did just that!!  I guess he didn't have enough fun today!!
Being Saturday, it was steak night so the tradition continued and once again....it was awesome.   It was a great way to finish off an awesome week and a great day's ride.
Life is Good!!